Interference
by imadiehardpjofan
Summary: You can't change the past - or can you? Someone interferes with the events of Godric's Hollow on October 31, 1981, preventing Voldemort from killing James and Lily Potter. There will be no Boy-Who-Lived. Voldemort, the Death Eaters, and Dumbledore will all lose. Manipulative Dumbledore, but that's it. Sorry that the chapters are short; I'm new to this.
1. Prologue

"This meeting of the Death Eaters is now concluded," Voldemort said. "You are dismissed."

Severus Snape left the grounds of the manor and disapparated, reappearing in Spinner's End.

The time-traveller watched Snape reappear at Spinner's End and walk towards his house.

He never reached it.

Severus Snape never saw the Killing Curse that hit him in the back, extinguishing his life.

He'd had his second chance, so very long ago, and he had chucked it out the window like so much trash. He would not get a third one.

One Death Eater down, who-knows-how-many-more to go. Rookwood would have to be next: as an Unspeakable at the Department of Mysteries, he was the most dangerous of the Death Eaters at the moment. He could potentially figure out that a temporal displacement had taken place. He had to be silenced preemptively, before he figured it out - and he may already _have_ figured it out.

Dolohov's death would gain the Weasleys' support; Pettigrew's death would gain that of Sirius Black, assuming Black wasn't furious not to have been the first to kill Pettigrew. (Which was actually too big of an assumption to make, come to think about it.) The problem was people like Dolohov, the Lestranges, and the Carrows were too flat-out dangerous to face in person. A more subtle strategy would need to be used with regards to them.

And if Rookwood had figured it out, killing him may not be enough to shut him up. He could come back as a ghost, and there was no way to bind his soul - well, not any that the time traveller had knowledge of.

The Resistance - or what was left of it, anyway - had decided to Cruciate Voldemort until his mind stopped working when it had become clear that he couldn't be killed. They hadn't known of any soul bind that would imprison him after they killed him, because if they had, Voldemort would be dead, not a drooling shell on the floor in a thirty-feet-underground chamber in 2011. But the Cruciatus Curse had done what it was supposed to do.

Besides, parading Voldemort around in the middle of the Diagon Alley - or what was left of it, anyway - gave the Death Eaters proof that their master had been defeated. They surrendered in droves - and, without preamble, had promptly been massacred by the remainder of the Resistance.

It was ugly, horrific, and might not even have been necessary, but it had happened anyway. Because what people do, when they're scared, is lash out. The Death Eaters were scared of the Muggles and Muggle-borns, and so they lashed out at them. Now, the remainder of magical Britain's citizens were terrified of the Death Eaters, and lashed out at them.

Maybe amnesty wasn't an option. Maybe rehabilitation wasn't an option. Maybe the Death Eaters were all just wild animals. Maybe the Third Massacre of Diagon Alley had had to be done, and the Death Eaters had all needed to die. _Maybe._

What was damning was most of the Resistance members' sheer _glee_ as they killed the Death Eaters, used their own Dark curses against them, tortured them into insanity, made them beg. They were _laughing_.

No one would ever _need_ to descend to that level if the time-traveller's plan worked. If it worked, countless generations would be spared the suffering of the Second Wizarding War.

Time to make an exit.

The first person arrived on the scene ten seconds after Snape's killer had Disapparated. That person was a Muggle, and didn't understand why Snape was dead. It was as if the dead man had simply dropped dead for no reason. There was no cause of death that would have made any sense.

Then the Aurors showed up and Obliviated him of the last three minutes of his life.


	2. Sirius takes a little convincing

October 31, 1981

"Sirius Black."

Sirius whirled around, a curse on his lips.

"Pettigrew snitched. He blabbed the Secret," the mysterious figure said, hands raised in a gesture of surrender.

"How do you know Pettigrew is the Secret-Keeper?" Sirius snarled suspiciously.

"Snape is a Death Eater and I killed him earlier this evening, but not before an extended interrogation in which I discovered everything he knows." It was technically true.

"You killed Snape?" Sirius asked. "You know, the Ministry doesn't approve of vigilantes-"

"Then what the hell do you call the Order of the Phoenix?"

"How do you know about the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Um, are you even _listening_? Snape knew about Pettigrew's treachery, and thus he also knew about Pettigrew spying on the Order of the Phoenix." Sirius was starting to get on the time-traveller's nerves.

"Peter, a traitor? I can't believe you, telling lies about my friend. I should kill you right here and now-"

"Suit yourself, though you'll be eating your own words when Lily and James are dead because you didn't listen to my warning," the figure said.

Sirius launched a curse, but the time-traveller had already Disapparated.

Peter, a traitor? Him telling the Secret to Voldemort? _What_?

He began thinking about it.

To have been able to come up with this load of tripe, someone had to have known Pettigrew was the Secret-Keeper.

If someone knew Pettigrew was the Secret-Keeper, the Death Eaters would be looking for Pettigrew, not Sirius.

If the Death Eaters were looking for Pettigrew, they would find him. Augustus Rookwood was an _insanely_ good tracker. So was Bellatrix, for that matter.

If the Death Eaters found Pettigrew, they'd demand the Secret from him.

And if they demanded the Secret from him, Pettigrew would refuse to tell it to them.

And if Pettigrew refused to tell it to them, they would Cruciate him for information.

And if the Death Eaters Cruciated Pettigrew for information -

Oh, _fuck_.

Sirius spun on the spot and Disapparated instantly, reappearing at Godric's Hollow.

* * *

Several kilometres away, a prophecy labelled "S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D." slipped from the numb fingers of a completely insane Augustus Rookwood.

If his mind weren't completely destroyed, he'd have cursed the damn bastard who'd Transfigured the prophecy into a Snitch and Banished it at him, tricking him into catching it.

He would never be able to tell Voldemort about the dangerous time-traveller on the loose.

TBC…

* * *

**Author's Note (1)**: Sirius is unwilling to believe our time-traveller about Pettigrew at first because he's trusted him for years. He's not going to immediately dismiss that because of what some stranger told him.

So why does he eventually believe it? His train of thought (inaccurate though it is) leads to the conclusion that the Death Eaters have already found Pettigrew and Cruciated him for information. Pettigrew, under torture, confesses to the true location. The Death Eaters then kill him, as he is no longer useful to them. In Sirius' mind, this is what happened. It's now too late to save Pettigrew, but it's not too late to save James and Lily.

**Author's Note (2): **You can only touch a prophecy if you're one of the people of which the prophecy speaks. Anyone else who tries to touch the prophecy is rendered completely insane. (Broderick Bode in the Order of the Phoenix; this is canon). This is the explanation for Rookwood's current state.


	3. Time-Turners and Pensieve memories

October 31, 1981, 4 hours to midnight

It was disappointingly easy to steal from the Department of Mysteries. In the case of Time-Turners, it was even easier to make things appear as if no theft had even taken place.

It was almost absurd, how easy it was.

The time-traveller stole a Time-Turner from the Department of Mysteries at midnight. Then she gave the Time-Turner four turns, and landed in the Department of Mysteries at eight in the evening - and then promptly returned the Time-Turner to the Department of Mysteries.

In effect, she returned the stolen Time-Turner _before_ it had been stolen.

From 8:00 PM to 12:00 AM, and from 8:00 to 12:00 PM _only_, two of the Time-Turners in the Department of Mysteries were the _same_ Time-Turner. Let's call them Time-Turner A and Time-Turner B. A is the Time-Turner _before_ it has been stolen, and B is the Time-Turner _after_ it has been stolen.

At 8:00 PM, A is in the Department of Mysteries. Four hours later, A is stolen. Having been stolen, A now becomes Time-Turner B. The time-traveller takes Time-Turner B, and goes back four hours, to 8:00 PM. She then puts Time-Turner B on the shelf. B remains on the shelf and is not stolen again. B is next to A, which will be stolen in a few hours and then become B.

At 8:00 PM, A is in the Department of Mysteries. The time-traveller shows up and puts B on the shelf. B remains on the shelf and is not stolen again. Four hours later, A is stolen, and then A becomes B.

Confused yet? You should be, unless (1) you're a Time Lord, or (2) you are a total nerd with too much _time_ on your hands.

Anyway, after returning B to the Department of Mysteries at 8:00 PM, the time-traveller went off to an abandoned cave to make good use of her four extra hours.

These four extra hours would be spent making a back-up plan, in case her planned intervention at Godric's Hollow failed, and Voldemort killed her, James, _and_ Lily. If that happened, Harry and Voldemort would be the only survivors of Halloween 1981, and this timeline would play out much the same as the original timeline, and that would _not_ be a good thing.

The contingency plan was: if her attempt to interfere with Halloween 1981 failed and she died, her death would magically trigger the sending of a message to the following individuals, carefully chosen:

Barty Crouch, Sr. Alastor Moody. Millicent Bagnold. Gawain Robards. Amelia Bones. John Dawlish, Sr. Arthur Weasley. The Head of the Unspeakables, Croaker.

"If you are receiving this memory," she began, "then I died at Godric's Hollow on October 31, 1981, and my death has triggered the sending of this message. I hope I gave the Dark Arsehole _hell_ before I died. First," she drew her wand, "I, Mandy Brocklehurst, swear on my life and magic that the information that I share in this memory is true and factual. No false statements are made in this memory." The gold glow of a solemn magical vow filled the cave.

"Now, remember, no matter _how_ seemingly ridiculous my statements are, _they are true_. If I utter a single false statement in this memory, I will lose my magic and die. _Immediately_."

"Peter Pettigrew is a Death Eater. I've seen the Dark Mark on his arm myself."

"I will charge Albus Dumbledore with these two things: incompetence and conspiracy to commit murder. He cannot be innocent of both of them, and I'll tell you why.

"In the war against You-Know-Who, Dumbledore formed a militia group called the Order of the Phoenix. It was named so after Dumbledore's pet phoenix, Fawkes.

"The members of the Order of the Phoenix include Alastor Moody, Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, James Potter, Lily Potter, and, among others… Peter Pettigrew.

"That's right. The _same_ Peter Pettigrew who is a Death Eater and has a Dark Mark on his arm.

"Dumbledore regularly brings his pet phoenix to meetings of the Order of the Phoenix. Pettigrew was present for meetings of the Order of the Phoenix.

"I'm going to pause and let that sink in. A man who had the _Dark Mark_ was present at meetings where a _phoenix_ was also present.

"Alarm bells should have gone off in Dumbledore's head. Hello, hello, a Death Eater is at your meetings! Hand him over to Barty Crouch for interrogation and imprisonment immediately!

"He didn't do this. In fact, at the time that this memory is being recorded, Peter Pettigrew has been spying on the Order for his true master for roughly an entire _year_."

"Dumbledore _has a phoenix that can practically smell Dark Marks_. There are two possibilities here, when you take that into account.

"Possibility one: Dumbledore has a phoenix that can practically smell Dark Marks and he _still_ failed to notice someone passing information to the Death Eaters in his own organization. This can only mean that he is unbelievably incompetent."

"Possibility two: Dumbledore was aware of the Death Eater spy within his organization the _whole time_ - which would make sense, as he does have a phoenix that can smell Dark Marks - and nevertheless let the man continue passing information to the Death Eaters for about a year. In this scenario, people who might have been alive otherwise are _dead_ because Dumbledore let Pettigrew do this."

"Here's your opportunity for confirmation: Question a few dozen Death Eaters when you capture them. Under Veritaserum, Legilimency, _and _the Medallis Veritas, ask them to name _every_ Death Eater that they know of. The possibility that all of them will be immune to all three of those is infinitesimally low. They will name Peter Pettigrew as a Death Eater. They will not name Sirius Black as one. The Truth Potion, Legilimency, and the Medallis Veritas don't lie."

"Next: You-Know-Who really is immortal. If another Dark Wizard - someone with more than enough hatred to cast the Killing Curse - cast the Killing Curse at him, and it _hit_, he wouldn't die. If you cut his head off, he wouldn't die. If you blew his chest open, he wouldn't die. In those situations, he would become a wraith, a disembodied spirit. Almost a ghost, except he's _not. Dead_. And he could still potentially return to his full power even after getting hit with things that would kill a _chimaera_. I don't know _how_ he got this immortality."

"I _do_ know that his immortality can be circumvented. If you held the master of the Death Eaters under the Cruciatus Curse until his mind was destroyed, he would cease to be a threat to anyone. If you cut his hands off, snapped his wand, and drained him of all his magic, he would cease to be a threat to anyone. Are those methods barbaric? Sure. Are they more barbaric than letting him kill as many people as he likes?"

"The same goes for Death Eaters such as Dolohov, the Lestranges, the Carrows, etc. Kill them. No quarter asked, nor given. Don't revel in it. Don't inflict sadistic tortures on them. Just kill them. Your virtue is a small price to pay for your children's continued existence."

"End of the memory."

Mandy proceeded to siphon her memories of everything she'd just said into a conjured vial, and then duplicated the vial several times.

They'd be sent to their intended destinations, but _only_ if she failed and died at Godric's Hollow.

And failure was a very real possibility. Voldemort was no pushover. He would not be defeated easily.

She just didn't want her failure to cost everything. There needed to be a back-up plan. Some people like to bet all-or-nothing, but if you don't get "all", you're left with - well, nothing.

"_Tempus_." The time charm. It wasn't midnight yet. There was time to knock off a Death Eater or two before visiting Godric's Hollow. Mulciber's death would cut down on the number of Imperiused. Travers was a dumb thug, but he had helped murder the McKinnons; he was past the point of redemption and needed to die.

After those two were permanently incapacitated, it was Godric's Hollow to fight Voldemort.

TBC...

* * *

**Author's Note**:

This was the first chapter that I was nervous about posting.

I know my choice of Mandy Brocklehurst as the time-traveller may be controversial, but I'm going for an original angle here. I've seen far too many fics in which Harry is the time-traveller, or Hermione is the time-traveller, or Hermione, Ron, or Luna are time-travelling alongside Harry, or Snape, Draco, or Dumbledore are the time-travellers.

I want a fic in which someone who isn't one of the main characters is doing the time-travelling.

Harry, in the original timeline, was far too high-profile to have gotten out of the war alive. Too many people knew who he was. Too many people hated him. He only lived due to a series of incredibly luckily timed events. Realistically, he'd have died in the war.

Neville would have been one of the people who was satisfied with how the war (in this fic) ended in the original timeline. All the Death Eaters dead, Cruciated into insanity, or Kissed. He would have been one of those who revelled, laughed, and took pleasure in killing and torturing Death Eaters.

It's not that I feel sorry for the Death Eaters, because I don't. But if you have to kill someone, you kill them because you need to. To protect yourself or another person. You don't enjoy it, and you don't revel in it. You sure as _hell_ don't laugh at their screams.

The Death Eaters need to be killed, but they their deaths don't need to be long-drawn-out and excruciatingly painful. Justice is the force that is necessary, and nothing more. The Death Eaters are rabid dogs. Killing them is necessary. Torturing them or deliberately making their executions more painful than they need to be is not necessary - and therefore no longer justice.

**Author's Note (2)**: Karkaroff, at his trial in _Goblet of Fire_ (the book, not the movie), cites Mulciber as a specialist in the Imperius Curse and Travers as one of the murderers of the McKinnons.

**Author's Note (3)**: I consider Manipulative! Dumbledore to be canon for the reasons that Mandy mentions in this chapter. He has a phoenix that can smell Dark Magic, and therefore a Dark Mark, from a mile away. There's no reason he shouldn't have known about Pettigrew. NONE.


	4. Fight at Godric's Hollow

October 31, 1981, 10 minutes to midnight, Godric's Hollow

_Knock knock knock knock_.

Sirius. James opened the door.

"James, you have to get out of here _now_!" Sirius shouted. "Our ruse has been discovered; they know about Peter and they know that Peter is the real Secret-Keeper!"

"_What_?" James asked.

"Don't ask questions, just move! We have to get out of here now! The Death Eaters or even their master could be here any moment! We have to change our location!"

James fumbled around for his wand. "Where's my wand, I need to send a Patronus message to Dumbledore-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake. _Accio James' wand_!" Sirius shouted. James caught it and nodded in thanks.

"Lily!" he shouted to the room behind him. "Death Eaters know Peter is the Secret-Keeper. We're relocating."

His wife dashed into the room. She didn't have her wand either.

"_Accio Lily's wand_," Sirius intoned, saving his lecture on the necessity of being armed at all times when you were the target of a deranged Dark Lord.

"Thanks, Sirius," she smiled.

"Save the thanks for later," Sirius said. "I know there are Ministry restrictions on Portkeys, but honestly, _fuck that_. Give me a sock or something."

BOOOOOOM.

The door exploded outwards, and Lord Voldemort stepped into the room.

"_Portus_!" Sirius shouted, pointing his wand at the sock that Lily had given to him.

"_Accio_," Voldemort countered. The sock flew towards him. As it did, the Dark Lord unleashed a tiny ball of concentrated Fiendfyre, reducing the Portkey to ash.

"Lily, take Harry and go," James said firmly, not taking his eyes from Voldemort. "We'll hold him off for now."

She nodded her assent, but Voldemort aimed at the exit door and set it on fire.

But before anyone could do anything else, a jet of green light flew at Voldemort from behind.

"_What_?" Voldemort hissed in outrage. Just in time, he turned around and conjured a rock into the path of the Killing Curse. He glared through narrowed eyes at the caster.

"Sirius," the caster said, "I'm glad to see that you listened to my warning."

"Sirius," James asked, "who is this?"

"Who the hell are you?" the Dark Lord demanded furiously.

"You've three less Death Eaters because of me," she said in response. An answer, but a non-answer at the same time. "Snape, Rookwood, Travers. I'm sorry I didn't have time to get to Mulciber, but busy schedules."

"You-"

"I'll attack from the left, you two attack from the right," she said to Sirius and James, completely ignoring Voldemort.

Voldemort growled angrily, and then he attacked.

He was by no means an easy opponent. He fired spells so fast it appeared as if he were dual and triple casting. He fired off Cutting Curses, Suffocation Spells, Heart-Attack Curses, Entrail-Expelling Curses, Finger-Removing Jinxes, Bone-Breaking Curses, Blasting Curses, Incendio Curses, and, of course, Killing Curses in every direction, almost faster than his opponents could blink.

But two could play that game.

No, sorry. _Five_ could play that game.

Mandy repeatedly cast _Avis _and _Oppugno_. The flocks of birds screamed in agony, which was horrible. But if she had to choose between the conjured animals getting killed by the curses, and her getting killed by the curses, her choice would be the same every time.

Sirius responded with a repertoire of spells prohibited by the Ministry, nearly all of which he learned from the Black Family Library. Voldemort easily blocked, countered, and deflected. He was too fast.

Voldemort conjured two dozen poisonous snakes and directed them at his enemies. Lily animated furniture to come to life. The furniture smacked six of the snakes in the face. James Transfigured and Vanished four of the snakes, but two of them bit him on the shoulder. He scowled in anger and turned the grandfather clock into a giant lion.

Mandy raised a wall of concentrated Fiendfyre in front of the snakes, incinerating them. Then she dropped the spell. Voldemort blinked in astonishment, but only for a moment. He spun round and struck the giant lion with the Killing Curse, and incinerated the animated furniture that came at him.

Sirius ducked behind the table and made to shoot spells at Voldemort from a (relatively) safe cover. Voldemort waved his wand, and the table exploded into smithereens. Sirius' face was cut several times by the debris.

Voldemort spun and easily blocked the other three's return fire, despite being shot at from three different directions. He destroyed a few more animated chairs, courtesy of Lily. James turned another clock into a giant tiger. Voldemort smacked the tiger in the face with a Killing Curse.

Sirius fired a curse up at the ceiling chandelier, causing it to fall. Voldemort hastily Banished it out of the way. The distraction caused Sirius to be able catch Voldemort on the left cheek with a Cutting Curse.

His look of elation soon changed to panic when Voldemort started casting even faster, still firing in all directions. He deflected Mandy's head-exploding curse in such a way that it was now heading for James.

James yelped as the curse drilled a hole into the couch where his head had been a split-second before. He let out an exclamation of, "Holy shit!"

Voldemort Imperiused James' next Transfigured lion to attack Sirius. The lion leapt on top of the Marauder and would have killed him, but Lily's Reductor Curse blew the lion's head off. In the meantime, Voldemort incinerated an animated desk that had charged at him.

The Dark Lord whirled round and shielded from an acid rain spell, cast by Mandy, and then Banished the time-traveller into a wall. By some miracle, she maintained hold of her wand.

Lily was now animating the remnants of the ceiling chandelier. James Transfigured another lion, which Voldemort Imperiused to attack Sirius again. Sirius yelled as the lion bit into his arm.

A furious-looking Mandy hurled two Killing Curses at Voldemort. Voldemort conjured two rocks that blew up from the Killing Curses, and then Banished their fragments back at her. Another wall of concentrated Fiendfyre rose up to incinerate the fragments, and then dissipated. Voldemort turned again, just in time to swat Lily's animated lamp out of the air. James was Summoning a light-bulb and electrically charging it with an unknown spell.

Voldemort fired a Cutting Curse aimed very precisely at James' hand. Sirius' _Protego_ was up just in time, but the two Marauders were still blown backwards. Voldemort turned back to counter another acid rain spell and two Bone-Breaking Curses from Mandy, before turning back again and deflecting Lily's own Cutting Curse back at her. It missed by a hair.

James and Lily looked at each other, and both nodded once, seeming to have decided on a definitive plan without having spoken. James then threw the electrically-charged light-bulb at the same time that Lily threw an _Aguamenti_. Voldemort's shield took both of them.

There was a loud BANG, and the Dark Lord was violently thrown backward. His magic (the shield) had come into contact with a combination of electricity (the light-bulb) and water (the _Aguamenti_ charm.)

"Grrr!" He shouted angrily. Sirius and Mandy both fired Reductor Curses at him while he was down, but despite his disoriented state, he was still quick enough to block one of them. The other smashed into his non-dominant arm. He yelled and Banished Sirius into the wall, then shot a curse causing the ceiling to collapse.

He turned back. James and Lily were trying to Vanish the pieces of falling ceiling, but there was too much of it.

He began to fire a series of curses at Mandy, who dodged, spun, and blocked. But the Dark Lord was casting too fast. His speed was absolutely incredible and it was all she could do not to get cut in half.

James Transfigured about one-fifth of the falling ceiling into pigs. With trembling fingers, Lily tore off one of Harry's socks and made to cast the _Portus_ charm at it.

Voldemort turned back round, cast a Summoning Charm on the sock, and then destroyed the Portkey with concentrated Fiendfyre, as he had done to the first Portkey.

A split second of distraction. That was all Mandy needed.

"_Accio shoes_," she whispered. Voldemort turned back, but too late. He blocked the spell aimed at his left shoe, but not the one aimed at his right. The spell yanked the Dark Lord's right foot out from under him and he stumbled, losing his balance.

"_Protego_!" she shouted next. The Shield Charm smacked the Dark Lord right in the face. He'd expected a curse, which he'd have reflexively swatted out of the air. He _hadn't_ expected a shield. The Shield Charm smacked him in the face and he fell, landing hard on his back. James' Transfigured pigs panicked and stampeded on his face.

Furious, Voldemort Vanished the pigs. He stood up again but then a huge stag ploughed into him. Mandy hastily fired a Banishing Charm at the two of them, spoiling Voldemort's Killing Curse before it could kill the stag and sending Voldemort and the Animagus five feet backwards straight into the fireplace.

Voldemort roared and ignited the fireplace. James shifted back into a human and dived between Voldemort's legs to escape the fireplace and avoid incineration. He then launched himself at the Dark Lord's knees, causing him to stumble and his aim to go awry. It also caused Lily's Piercing Curse to miss, and the spell zoomed right through the spot that Voldemort's head had been a split-second before.

Voldemort Banished James off of him, looking livid. Mandy advanced upon Voldemort, conjuring a swarm of ice daggers that she Banished at him. Voldemort was now so enraged that his normally flawless focus in casting slipped, and two ice daggers clipped him on the side, drawing a thin line of blood. This made him even more furious. Mandy conjured another flock of birds into the path of Voldemort's return fire, before hurling another swarm of ice daggers.

A wall of concentrated Fiendfyre roared to life, incinerating the daggers. The wall of fire then dissipated. Voldemort prided himself on learning his enemies' tactics and using them for himself. He conjured a snake into the path of her Cutting Curse. The snake was cut in two and fell to the floor. James and Lily hurled Blasting Curses aimed at Voldemort's feet.

Voldemort turned and hastily shielded, but it wasn't enough. The force of the explosions was still enough to throw him into a cabinet of kitchenware. He snarled as Sirius Black animated a spoon and directed it towards him. Bloody spoon was trying to dig his eyes out! He sent the spoon flying back at Sirius, who turned it into a monkey. A _monkey_! Was that blasted blood-traitor trying to mock him or something?

Sirius frowned thoughtfully, and then turned the monkey into a toy plushie of the Dark Lord, making him even more furious. His rage was impeding his ability to think clearly. He fired five Castration Curses at Sirius. Sirius conjured a wall. The wall blew up under the onslaught of the curses, and again Sirius was cut in a dozen places by the pieces of destroyed wall.

But, more importantly, he hadn't been castrated.

"_Lumos Maxima_," Mandy incanted. A flash of light blinded practically everyone in the room. James pressed forward and Transfigured the floor beneath Voldemort's feet into acid. As the spell began to wear off, Voldemort yelled in rage and threw a Blasting Curse at Harry's crib.

The one-year-old was thrown through the air like a ragdoll. Voldemort gave a victorious smirk of triumph, before turning the acid back into floor tiles.

"_No_!" James shouted. "_Arresto Momentum!_ Damn it! _ARRESTO MOMENTUM_!"

The second spell caught Harry just in time. James fought with all the magical power he had not to drop the spell. If his concentration faltered for even a second, Harry would fall.

Voldemort spun around once more, directing a Killing Curse at James Potter. Sirius yelled in rage and fired a Cruciatus Curse at Voldemort's back. But the Dark Lord's reflexes were still quick, and he turned and conjured a rock in the path of the curse just in time.

Lily Banished James out of the way of the Killing Curse and cast _Arresto Momentum_ herself. James staggered to his feet, groaning.

Lily reached up to pull the floating Harry into her arms.

Only to abruptly pull to the side, just in time, as Voldemort's Killing Curse missed her and Harry by a hair's breadth.

James was enraged. "Don't you dare," he told Voldemort. "Don't you dare touch a single hair on her or Harry's head."

"Or what?" Voldemort sneered. "_Crucio_!" James fell to the floor screaming.

"NO!" Sirius yelled, springing up. "_Crucio_!" he yelled at Voldemort. Voldemort deflected the curse in such a way that it hit James instead. James screamed louder.

Mandy hurled a series of ice daggers at Voldemort, but Voldemort incinerated them again. He hurled a Banishing Charm, and she dived to the left just in time, returning fire with a head-exploding curse which he easily blocked.

James, no longer under Voldemort's Cruciatus Curses, breathed again. Lily scooped the injured Harry into her arms and glared daggers at Voldemort.

Sirius ransacked his mind for out-of-the-box ideas. He needed something completely unexpected that would also be effective. What did he need? Blowing up Voldemort would be amazing, but Voldemort would probably block that. He needed something, something that Voldemort could not possibly think of.

"_Expecto Patronum_!" Mandy shouted. The raven Patronus flew right at Voldemort. Sirius crawled on the floor, moving towards Voldemort, trying not to get noticed. Then he realised a better way not to get noticed.

Padfoot cast a Silencing Charm on his feet and hands and Disillusioned himself, then continued crawling.

Voldemort yelled as the Patronus harassed him. He flung spells at it, but they were completely ineffective.

Wracked with pain, James Potter nevertheless forced himself to his feet.

Voldemort screamed with triumph, finally having managed to dismiss Mandy's Patronus. The magical backlash of having her Patronus dispelled threw the time-traveller backwards.

He was about to move forward to finish her off, when James Potter shot a spell at him. The man had been under two Cruciatus Curses; it was amazing that he could even stand up.

Voldemort easily deflected James' own spell back at him. James' wand flew from his hand and Voldemort caught it.

Voldemort grinned savagely in triumph, and then directed his wand towards James Potter, and said, "_Avada Ked-_"

And then he yelled as he was physically yanked backwards by an invisible Sirius Black, throwing his aim off. Voldemort elbowed the Black scion in the ribs, but Sirius held on.

Voldemort and Sirius crashed down to the ground. Sirius regained his footing first, and James, Lily, and Mandy all watched in astonishment as an invisible Sirius Black punched Voldemort right in the face. Voldemort attempted to cast a Banishing Charm at Sirius, but Sirius dodged left before punching Voldemort in the stomach.

"_Expelliarmus_," Lily was the quickest to regain her wits. Voldemort's, James', and Sirius' wands all flew towards her.

Voldemort turned in a fury. "Give me the wand," he said coldly. "_Now_."

"_Stupefy_," she said, firing twin jets of red.

Voldemort cast a wandless, nonverbal shield, absorbing the spells. She gaped at him before he wandlessly Banished her into the wall. _Stupid_! he mused to himself. He should have cast the Killing Curse instead.

James launched himself at the Dark Lord's knees, but Voldemort wandlessly Banished the Marauder off of him.

Mandy fired another series of ice daggers at Voldemort, simultaneously dodging a Banishing Charm. Voldemort was firing all wandless now, which meant he was tiring faster. He'd also used up more magical energy than any of his _individual_ four opponents. She intercepted his Killing Curse with a Tickling Charm just to piss him off. Voldemort's eyes narrowed. He fired a Cruciatus Curse, which she intercepted with another Tickling Charm. The Tickling Charm didn't cost much energy to cast.

Voldemort got angrier and angrier. His heart-attack curse deflected off of another Tickling Charm.

He cast a fire whip next. It flew through the air. She jumped as the it passed through the space where her feet had been a split second before. She Transfigured three wine glasses into sand and directed the sand at the center of the fire whip.

Before Voldemort could register his astonishment at his fire whip being defeated by sand (ha, he never really _had_ studied Muggle science), the invisible Sirius Black grabbed him from behind. Voldemort attempted to cast wandless spells, but Sirius grabbed both of his wrists, sending Voldemort's spells into the floor.

Voldemort struggled with Sirius. James and Lily forced themselves to their feet, grabbing their wands.

Mandy, James, and Lily all leveled their wands at Voldemort's chest and prepared to cast Blasting Curses. But then Sirius suddenly fell to the floor, yelling in agony. Voldemort had used Legilimency to counterattack.

The Dark Lord pulled out of Sirius' mind just in time to see three Blasting Curses headed at him, all less than twenty centimeters away. He Disapparated just in time, but two of them hit him anyway.

There was silence.

"Wait, is that it?" James asked, confused. "Did we beat him?"

"I think so," Mandy said, just as astonished. "Well, not _beat_ him exactly. If we'd actually beaten him, he wouldn't have gotten away."

"I… forget that," James said. "I'm just glad none of us _died_, I mean, it's a miracle that all five of us are even _alive_ when we were fucking fighting _Vol_-"

"Yeah, I get it," she said a bit sheepishly. "You know, I'm really gonna be on his shit list after tonight-"

"Language you two," Lily said sternly. "We need to get Harry to St. Mungo's, now. That bastard threw a Blasting Curse at Harry - thank fuck it wasn't the Killing Curse - and we need to get Harry's injuries treated _now_."

Neither James nor Mandy were stupid enough to point out Lily's own profanity.

Sirius moaned from the floor. "Oh, Sirius too." Lily added. "And you too, James, don't you pretend you don't need treatment. You were hit by the Cruciatus Curse _twice_."

"And - not that I'm glad that you were here to help us fight him, but who exactly are you?" she asked the time-traveller.

"Oh, wait!" James shouted. "I just realized! We have Voldemort's _wand_ now -"

The Taboo triggered, and a bunch of Death Eaters Apparated into Godric's Hollow.

"Oh shit."

TBC…

* * *

**Author's Note**: Fight scenes are hella hard to write. I tried to make this one a collaborative group effort. Voldemort's defeat here was the result of teamwork. He was quadruple-teamed. No _one_ person holds the credit for it.

And ha ha, did you really think this chapter was going to end up in Voldemort getting discorporated like he was in canon? Mandy's arrival in this timeline did some good things (like the Potters surviving, Sirius not being imprisoned, Rookwood being permanently out of the picture), and some bad things (like Voldemort's survival in this timeline). She's powerful and clever, but she's not a Mary Sue; her arrival is not going to suddenly magically fix everything. _Especially_ not single-handedly.


	5. Information, Intelligence, and Plans

November 1, 1981, 10 AM, Nott Manor

"Report!" said Bellatrix. "The Dark Lord is indisposed at the moment and he has asked me to hold this meeting for him."

"We have confirmed the death of Severus Snape," reported Avery. "It seems as if he was hit in the back with a Killing Curse late last night."

"How late last night?" Bellatrix demanded.

"Two hours to midnight," Avery answered. "Travers was also killed thirty minutes after that."

"Travers is dead?" Bellatrix demanded.

Avery thought about sneering, _Duh, that's what I just told you_, but decided against it. Bellatrix could be nearly as vicious as the Dark Lord with her Cruciatus Curses - maybe even more so. "Yes," he answered.

"Who are the other five? Tell me at once!" Bellatrix said.

"I only know that Thorfinn Rowle was one of the dead," Avery said. "The other four are new recruits, 'rookies,' of which I do not know the names. As I was not present, I do not know what happened. Ask Mulciber."

"We have the Taboo," Mulciber said shakily. "Someone at Godric's Hollow had uttered the Dark Lord's name, and so Rowle, I, and four of the newbies went off to teach them a lesson."

"We faced Potter and his Mudblood wife, the blood traitor Black, and an unknown witch who I've never even _seen_ before last night, but who is nonetheless extremely dangerous."

"One of Dumbledore's new recruits?" Bellatrix suggested, as Yaxley questioned, "_Godric's Hollow_?"

"I will answer _all_ of your questions, I promise!" Mulciber said, seeming a bit agitated. "As to whether she is one of Dumbledore's new recruits… I sincerely doubt it. She has no qualms about using the Unforgivable Curses - at all."

"And Potter and Black would willingly associate with such a person?" Dolohov questioned.

"I don't think so, no," Mulciber replied. "They seemed just as shocked as we were when she started busting out the Killing Curses."

"You haven't answered _my _question, Mulciber. _Godric's Hollow_?" Yaxley asked.

"That is strange," Rabastan Lestrange declared. "Our Lord said that he was targeting Godric's Hollow for himself, because he wanted to kill the Potters. So why are the Potters still alive?"

"Potter and Black had already been severely wounded by the time we got there," Mulciber declared. "Potter looked like he had been Cruciated, and Black had been cut in two dozen places by flying debris. But the other two looked mostly unscathed. They can't have taken more than a few Banishers at most."

"Let us work this out," Rabastan commanded. "Our Lord went to Godric's Hollow to kill the Potters. Then, someone at Godric's Hollow spoke the Dark Lord's name, and you six went there to punish whoever it was - but it was the Potters, Black, and an unknown mysterious witch with a fond penchant for Unforgivables."

"That wasn't _quite_ the way I would put it -" Mulciber started

"I don't care about how you would put it," Rabastan snarled.

"We can only conclude," Rabastan continued, as if he had never been interrupted, "that by some fantastic case of luck, that the Potters managed to survive our Lord's attack on them last night."

"Holy shit," Dolohov breathed. "That's the _fourth_ time they've survived."

"You said you faced four wizards at Godric's Hollow?" Rabastan asked Mulciber. "Potter and his Mudblood, the blood traitor Black, and whoever this mysterious witch is?"

"And there were _six_ of you, including Rowle, and nevertheless _five_ of you got killed anyway?" Bellatrix shouted. "What incompetence. _Crucio_!"

Mulciber screamed under the curse, twisting and flailing in agony.

"_Crucio_!" Bellatrix shouted again, ecstatic with glee.

"Bella," Rodolphus Lestrange interceded, "if his mind gives out, we won't be able to question him."

"Fine," she pouted, and released the Curse.

"How did the Potters survive our Lord's attack on them last night? They shouldn't have even known he was going to come. They didn't know that we had figured out their little ruse about Pettigrew and Black - oh, Pettigrew!" Yaxley shouted suddenly, smacking his head. "He must have betrayed the Secret _knowing_ that the Dark Lord would come to Godric's Hollow, then fail to kill them _again_, which would undermine the Dark Lord's position -"

"Let's send out an order to kill that miserable rat on sight," Bellatrix declared. "But even with Pettigrew's duplicity exposed, it still doesn't explain how they survived."

"Well, there were four of them," Mulciber began, wearily eyeing Bellatrix's wand. "So, really, instead of fighting two wizards as he had expected, the Dark Lord was fighting four. Black and the unknown witch were present as well."

"The Dark Lord can take on and defeat _any_ four wizards!" Bellatrix loudly proclaimed. "But even then, you said Potter and Black were severely injured. How do four wizards who have already been severely worn down by a fight with the Dark Lord wipe the floor with six of you?"

"Four of us were newbies!" Mulciber shouted wildly.

"Excuses, excuses! Even a newbie pureblood should be able to kill a Mudblood with no problem!" Bellatrix shouted. "_Crucio_!"

Rodolphus forced her arm down. The curse missed and smashed into the wall five centimetres above Mulciber's head. Rather predictably, he flinched.

"Get off of me, husband! He deserves to suffer for his incompetence!" Bellatrix roared insanely.

"He can give us the memory of how he and his team got their collective arses kicked," Dolohov suggested. "That way, we can torment him by replaying the memory over and over again whenever he does something annoying."

Bellatrix raised her wand again. "Or we can Cruciate him, either one really," Dolohov added hastily.

"No!" Mulciber cried, and produced a silver strand of memory. "Someone conjure a vial."

Yaxley conjured the vial, which Mulciber levitated the memory into. He then sealed the vial shut with a spell.

"We can show this to the Dark Lord first," he said, handing the vial to Bellatrix.

"Right," said Lucius Malfoy. "Now that that's done with, let us discuss the mysterious witch - the one who will use Unforgivables."

"She is more dangerous than the vast majority of Dumbledore's Order, we know this for sure," Amycus Carrow stated. "She is capable of casting the Killing Curse -"

"- and the Imperius Curse," Mulciber interjected. "She also animated one of the newbies' corpses to attack Rowle."

Carrow nearly spat out his drink. "_What_? She animated one of the newbies' _corpses_ -?"

"Perhaps the Dark Lord should consider making her an ally," Lucius suggested.

"After she killed at least five of his men, I'm not sure he will be too keen on the idea," Rabastan countered, "especially since she interfered in his planned killings of the Potters last night. You don't prevent the Dark Lord from killing someone that he wants to kill without permanently ending up on his shit list."

"Maybe he can talk her out of interfering with his plans on the next occasion," Lucius suggested something else.

"If that bitch dares to interfere with his plans, he should destroy her!" Bellatrix proclaimed.

"She's _already_ more dangerous than at least half the Order. Killing _and_ Imperius Curses _and_ a slight touch of necromancy - animating a newbie's _corpse_ for fuck's sake -"

"I don't think the Order will work with her," said Yaxley. "Her methods are too practical for them. She's not crippled enough by morals to be one of them. She must be an independent agent."

"Potter and Black worked with her," countered Carrow.

"I saw how they reacted to her casual use of necromancy and Unforgivable Curses. They looked horrified. I don't think they fully realized that she wouldn't stick to Light spells until she animated the corpse," Mulciber put in his two Knuts.

"We can leak information about her to Dumbledore," Lucius suggested. "He will take great offense to her tactics and maybe he will try to have her imprisoned."

"We cannot be too careful in this," Rodolphus concluded. "We must plan…"

* * *

Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts, 10 AM

"How?" Dumbledore was utterly stumped. How had they survived? According to James and Lily, a mysterious witch had warned Sirius that Pettigrew had betrayed them, then personally intervened against Voldemort's attack. They had then driven him off.

No! This wasn't how the prophecy was supposed to play out! It was young Harry that had the power that the Dark Lord knows not! He was the hero of the prophecy, and he was the one who was supposed to defeat Voldemort!

His plans were thrown all out of whack! He had planned to let Pettigrew betray them, so Voldemort would come to Godric's Hollow and be defeated by the hero of the prophecy. Lily and James' lives were a small price to pay for Voldemort's discorporation. Then Harry would be under his thumb and would be able to slowly be moulded into the hero that would stop Voldemort - but what had just happened? What had _happened_?

_Someone_ was interfering. _Someone_ was messing with the way things should have happened. Harry was still under the care of James and Lily, who would not allow Harry to be moulded into the hero of any prophecy. They could not see the bigger picture; that Harry _needed_ to be moulded into the hero of the prophecy for Voldemort to be vanquished.

The hero had to be Harry, and Harry had to win against Voldemort. And that could only happen if the hero handled things in a way that was good and wise. That meant that the hero needed to be guided at every step by Dumbledore.

But his plans were being meddled with!

It was only a temporary setback. It could have been worse. Voldemort could have been defeated by the mysterious witch, which would not have fit the prophecy at all. That would have been a disaster.

Nevertheless, he needed to plan things a lot more carefully from now on.

"I cannot be too careful in this," Dumbledore decided. "I must plan…"

* * *

Leaky Cauldron, 10 AM

Voldemort and Dumbledore's plans had been foiled at least for now. And Harry was still under the care of a very much alive James and Lily, so he would be free from Dumbledore's thumb, at least for now.

She wasn't going to celebrate her successes, though. Voldemort and Dumbledore were very dangerous enemies, and the utmost of caution would need to be exercised with regards to them.

And there was the fact that James, Lily, and Sirius didn't take too kindly to her use of Dark Magic against the Death Eaters. They didn't trust her.

She _had_ planted suspicions of Dumbledore in them with the words, "Dumbledore's known about Pettigrew for a year. Phoenix, Dark Mark."

She didn't know if they were too blinded by the vision of Saint Dumbledore to listen to reason, or not. It was still up in the air.

She needed to plan things carefully.

_I cannot be too careful in this_, she thought to herself. _I must plan_…

TBC...

* * *

**Author's Note**: People can animate corpses and still not be evil. Harry animates Remus Lupin's corpse in the final chapter of jbern's _The Lie I've Lived_, and he's not evil in that story.

I might decide to post the fight scene of the 6 Death Eaters vs Padfoot, Prongs, Lily, and Time-Traveller later.

Next few chapters are probably going to be about the original timeline, the one that Mandy came from.


	6. A glance at the original timeline

Leaky Cauldron, November 1, 1981, 5 PM

Mandy was thinking; her purposes in this mission were actually threefold, weren't they? To stop Voldemort from committing genocide, to stop Dumbledore from playing games with people's lives, and to make sure Harry grew up happy so he never had a reason to become the murderer he had been in the old timeline.

In the original timeline, Dumbledore had planned to manipulate young Harry into becoming his weapon against Voldemort. It started with indoctrination.

After a decade living with relatives who did not love him, Harry would become downtrodden and shy, and most importantly, _malleable_, and he would give anything to be rescued and loved and cared about by someone - it would seem like a godsend to him. And he would cling to it for all he was worth.

He would fall in line with whatever Dumbledore told him - (technically, it would be Hagrid and the Weasleys telling him, Dumbledore was using them as his proxies anyway, so for all practical purposes it _is_ Dumbledore telling him) - that is to say, things like 'Gryffindors _all good_,' 'Slytherins _ALLEVIL_,' 'Hufflepuffs _irrelevant_,' 'suicidal bravery worth doing,' 'Dumbledore _never wrong_,' and - oh, this was her favorite - '_power of love is the solution to EVERYTHING_.'

And young Harry would believe everything that Dumbledore told him, because - hey - he had rescued him from the Dursleys - proof positive of the aged wizard's awesomeness to the young boy. Even if Harry didn't believe everything that Dumbledore told him, he would fall in line with whatever he was told _anyway_ - after ten years living with relatives who did not love him, he would be ecstatic to learn that someone finally "cared," and he wouldn't dare do anything that would jeopardize that.

The extent to which Dumbledore was willing to play with people's lives in order to achieve his grand scheme was sickening - he was every bit as horrible as Voldemort, he just hid it better.

He'd created the perfect plan for raising up the perfect weapon. A perfect plan, save for the fact that _it hadn't worked_.

And it hadn't worked for the simple reason that Harry asked questions. He asked way too many questions.

The Dursleys had declared that they would stamp Harry's magic out of him, because it was "freakishness." Unable to fight back in any other way, Harry had kept promises, plans, and dreams of revenge up in his own mind. But part of him had asked, _why_? _Why am I being treated like this?_ And his mind refused to accept answers like, _Because they're assholes,_ or _Because I'm a freak, and I don't deserve to be treated like I'm human_.

He got some of his answers on his eleventh birthday, but not all of them. He wasn't satisfied with that so little information with which Hagrid had provided him. He wanted to know more. He wanted to know why the Dursleys treated him like this, who had put him with the Dursleys, did they know that the Dursleys would treat him like this, if the man who had murdered his parents had supporters, and which of those supporters he particularly needed to watch out for.

Harry asked question after question after question; he never mindlessly believed what he was told. In his head, he made elaborate plans for revenge on the Dursleys and whoever had put him with them. He had learned, the hard way, a very long time ago, not to trust _anyone_. And he was _certainly_ not going to suicidally charge into dangerous situations if _any_ better alternative existed.

Dumbledore's plan had backfired in a big way. With those kind of traits, there was no chance in _hell_ that Harry would have _ever_ been sorted into Gryffindor. He was sorted into Ravenclaw, bucking Dumbledore's plans for a self-sacrificing, suicidally brave hero who would do whatever he was told.

Harry had had his revenge, and he had had it in a big way. Harry actually _was_ a ruthless cunning bastard; Dumbledore merely _thought_ he was one. Harry had actually been outplaying Dumbledore's plans for him at every turn, but he had been doing it subtly enough so that Dumbledore didn't even realize that Harry's loyalty to him was almost _entirely _faked - until it had been too late and Harry had played his trump card.

After Harry had created his own third side of the war (apart from Dumbledore's Order and Voldemort's Death Eaters) he hunted down Order and Death Eater members alike with kill-on-sight orders that he had provided for them. He had amassed himself dozens upon dozens of followers with the massive amount of charisma he had possessed. He was ingenious, ruthless, and cunning. Although he'd been sorted into Ravenclaw, he probably would have done just as well in Slytherin. It was just, eleven-year-old Harry was more inquisitive than ambitious and cunning. As a first year, he possessed more Ravenclaw traits than he did Slytherin traits.

But eight years later, Harry was far more cunning and ambitious than he was inquisitive - a perfect example of just why the Hogwarts Houses sorting system was so incredibly flawed.

The Gryffindor, Ron Weasley _should_ have been in Hufflepuff, judging by the decisions he'd made _after _he'd turned fifteen. The Hufflepuff, Ernie Macmillan, _should_ have been in Ravenclaw judging by his extreme focus on academic performances. Astoria Greengrass was equal parts Gryffindor and Slytherin; her mad plan to kill Bellatrix Lestrange practically _screamed_ Gryffindor suicidal bravery, but the fact that it had actually _succeeded_ testified to her more Slytherin nature.

People can have more than one defining trait, and putting them in a box (as the Hogwarts House system did) decided that the course of people's entire lives would be decided by what they were like and what decisions they made when they were _eleven_.

Had Harry merely hunted down the Death Eaters with kill-on-sight orders, imprisoned the Order members, and then stepped down from power, everything would have been fine. However, he was actually a lot like Dumbledore in some respects. (Of course, anyone telling him that would have been killed. Painfully.)

Although he'd started off the inquisitive child who kept asking questions, Harry lost the sole remaining vestiges of his innocence in the years to come. He wanted vengeance; vengeance on Voldemort for murdering his parents, vengeance on the Dursleys for abusing him, and vengeance on Dumbledore for making sure he grew up with shitty guardians _and_ setting his parents up to be killed in the first place. What he wanted was revenge on the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters, to kill every last one of them. And if innocent people just _happened_ to be in the way - well, their deaths weren't his problem, were they? He'd explained away _those_ deaths by repeatedly reassigning blame for the death of a civilian from one of his men to a Death Eater, or declaring that they had used lethal spells and sometimes people were caught in the crossfire from his team's actions. He saw it as collateral damage.

Mandy believed that towards the end of the war, Harry Potter was well and truly insane. Frustrated that he hadn't killed all the Order members and Death Eaters yet, he had people killed on the mere suspicion that someone was an Order member or a Death Eater; and more often than not, they turned out to be innocent. It was like something out of the Inquisition. He also killed those who were Imperiused, despite the fact that he could have _easily_ non-lethally disabled them and returned them to their normal lives. He dropped nuclear weapons on Hogwarts in order to be able to gloat to Voldemort about how he was outclassed and a has-been, not caring about the three hundred or so innocent students who perished alongside Voldemort's Death Eaters in the explosion.

The Dursleys had never taught him that human life was valuable, after all.

The most horrifyingly disturbing thing about all of that is that if Harry Potter had _not_ taken the actions that he had taken, Voldemort probably would have won the Second Wizarding War and succeeded in his genocide against the non-pureblooded wizards of Britain.

Perhaps his actions had been essential. Maybe they had needed to be done. Maybe in private, he was really actually pretty tormented by the innocent lives that were killed whenever he was headbutting Dumbledore and/or Voldemort, and hid his immense guilt behind the façade of an unscrupulous murderer so that no one would regret putting him down when it was his time.

It was a possibility, but not one that Mandy considered terribly likely.

Hopefully, her intervention this time around would change things for the better. Harry Potter's parents were still alive and they would raise him well; without an abusive family, Harry would have no reason to go off the deep end and become the man he had in the old timeline.

She shook herself out of her old reminiscences, and considered her next Death Eater target.

She Disillusioned herself and left the pub, planting several Notice-Me-Not charms on herself. She also placed a Silencing Charm on her feet and charmed her left shoe into a Portkey with activation phrase 'flibbertygibbet.'

There was no such thing as being too careful.

Knockturn Alley, November 3, 1981, 10 PM

The time-traveller spotted Lucius Malfoy walking down Knockturn, heading for Borgin and Burkes, ostensibly to buy some Dark artifact.

She had to catch him _before_ he purchased the thing. There was always the chance that the artifact in question was designed to automatically protect its owner from being hit by spells. He might already carry one of those, hell, she didn't know.

She removed her left shoe and placed upon it two spells: a subtle compulsion spell to fire Killing Curses, and a self-destruct spell. The shoe-Portkey would self-destruct by erupting in flames the moment it arrived at its intended destination. She then sent a Banishing Charm at the left shoe so that it collided straight into Lucius Malfoy.

"Flibbertygibbet," she whispered. Lucius and the Portkey-shoe vanished.

The Portkey's destination was Hogwarts, Dumbledore's office.

She would judge the Ministry by how it dealt with Lucius after this. She had no idiotic notions that they would perform admirably.

TBC...

**Author's Note**: Manipulative Dumbledore is canon; whether or not Dumbledore deliberately set up Harry's parents to be murdered or not, he facilitated their deaths by not immediately throwing Pettigrew in Azkaban the moment he failed the Fawkes test. Author: Kalen Darkmoon has a far more eloquent explanation of why Manipulative Dumbledore is canon than I do; see that user's profile.

Harry has every reason to become an amoral murderer in the original timeline. I believe in the nurture part of the nature vs. nurture debate. (From my point of view) We are what circumstance makes us. You can't sentence someone to a position in which ten out of the first eleven years of their life they are not loved by their guardians and honestly expect them to be a well-adjusted member of society.

The Houses system is greatly flawed as well. People change over time. And the stereotypes of the Houses is horribly unhealthy. Who is honestly the same today as they were when they were eleven years old? The Houses system and the Houses stereotyping makes sure that the decisions that a Hogwarts student makes when he or she is eleven practically define what they do, are, and accomplish for the entire rest of their lives - and all because people can't disassociate the stereotype of the House from the actual person they are dealing with.


	7. Order of the Phoenix meeting

November 3, 1981, 9 PM, Order of the Phoenix headquarters

"What really happened at Godric's Hollow on the 31st of October?" Moody asked, without preamble. "I have heard multiple stories and rumours about what happened, and I want to know what is bullshit and what is true. Albus?"

Dumbledore started. He had been thinking about how his plans had been thrown all out of whack by that meddling witch's interference that night, and what was the best way he should adjust his plans in order to respond to the unexpected event.

"Albus?" Moody prompted.

"Well," Albus gave a sigh and visibly gathered himself. "As you all know, on October 31, Lord Voldemort came to Godric's Hollow and attempted to kill James, Lily, and their son."

The room fell into almost deafening silence.

"Good heavens!" cried Elphias Doge, and simultaneously Arthur Weasley shouted, "That bastard!" and his wife scolded him for bad language.

"Are they all right?" asked a concerned Hestia Jones.

"James contacted me in the early morning of November 1," Frank Longbottom said. The Longbottoms and the Potters had always been fairly close, and they had become even closer after they had both been targeted by the Dark Lord. "He doesn't know when he will be out of St. Mungo's. Sirius will be out within four days. Lily's spending the entire next two weeks in St. Mungo's at Harry's bedside, due to the fact that the infant was injured when You-Know-Who threw a Blasting Curse at his crib. Despite all of that, he and Sirius have assured me that everything is fine."

The room erupted into shouts and arguments and pandemonium.

"Sirius? But wasn't he their Secret-Keeper?" Vance demanded angrily. "If not for him, You-Know-Who never would have even _found_ the Potters in the first place!"

The room erupted into even more shouts and arguments and pandemonium.

"QUIET!" Moody roared. "Let Mr. Longbottom finish what he has to say, although truthfully, I am wondering that myself."

"Thank you, Auror Moody," Frank continued as if he had never even been interrupted. "James' note _also_ said that Peter Pettigrew was the Secret-Keeper, and that they told everyone that the Secret-Keeper was Sirius Black instead in order to throw the Death Eaters off. Lily also forced Sirius to swear not to go after Pettigrew alone."

"_Peter Pettigrew_ was the Secret-Keeper?"

"I don't believe it."

"Sirius Black may claim to be Light, but remember that he comes from a very Dark family. I never believed him in the first place, and bad blood will out. What if he Confunded James and Lily after his master's attempt on their life failed, Confunded them to believe that they had switched Secret-Keepers in order to remain in their trust after having betrayed it-"

"Shut up," Frank Longbottom snapped. Heads swiveled to stare at him; Frank Longbottom almost _never_ got angry. "These constant suspicions about Sirius Black secretly working for You-Know-Who have _always_ been unfounded. You can't judge someone based on their family's actions. Sirius has done nothing except fight against the Death Eaters and their master from the very beginning of the war, and he will continue to do exactly that for as long as this war will drag on!"

"Pretty words," sneered an old man in the back row, "but your impassioned speech doesn't prove anything. Black will turn to the Dark Side in the end; it's in his family's blood, it's in his nature-"

"According to the note I was sent by James Potter, Black fought _against_ You-Know-Who at Godric's Hollow," Frank Longbottom interrupted. "Even if he wanted to join the Death Eaters after that, You-Know-Who is unlikely to forgive such a personal slight against him."

The old man in the back row looked furious, but he refrained, with great difficulty, from saying anything more.

Arthur Weasley, on the other hand, looked immensely proud of himself. "I knew I chose well when I recommended Black as a prospective member," he said, seeming almost absolutely giddy. "But directly fighting against You-Know-Who himself? There is no way his loyalty could ever be called into question now."

"We're getting off-topic here," Moody said brusquely. "We were supposed to be talking of strategies and events and actual happenings, and instead we are speculating on our members' loyalty. If we should be questioning someone, it should be Peter Pettigrew, who Potter, his wife, _and_ Black have all directly named as the traitor who has betrayed the Secret."

"I imagine the little rat has gone to ground," Aberforth snorted. "He knows that the Potters are going to tell everyone they can that he was the Secret-Keeper and the traitor. That will result in a fair amount of people hunting for his head."

"Won't he simply go crawling back to the Death Eaters for protection?" Diggle inquired.

"My, my," Aberforth looked at him incredulously. "You are a stupid one, aren't you?" he said derisively.

"Now listen here -" Diggle began indignantly, before Moody cut him off. "Dumbledore, how have the Death Eaters reacted to the news of their master's defeat at Godric's Hollow?"

"_Defeat_?" Molly Weasley said with a tone of incredulity. "Probably James, Sirius, and Lily merely held You-Know-Who off long enough for reinforcements to show up, and then You-Know-Who realised he was outnumbered and outmatched and ran away."

"This is You-Know-Who we're talking about," Aberforth scoffed. "You remember the London Massacre of 1978, don't you? At the climax of that battle, he fought seven fully-trained Aurors at once, and he killed four of them and severely wounded the other three. Exactly _how_ many reinforcements would have to show up to make him run away?"

"Dumbledore," Elphias said. "Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard in the world, and he is the only one that You-Know-Who was ever scared of."

"Except that didn't happen," Frank said. "James was quite clear in his note about Professor Dumbledore's lack of interference in the events of Godric's Hollow. Anyway, I wanted to know what happened that night, so I visited St. Mungo's. Lily stopped me, declaring that she didn't want her husband to overexert himself too much because of his numerous injuries."

"Will he live?" asked Amelia Bones.

"The St. Mungo's staff believes he will. However, he's not too well at the moment. He was bitten by two poisonous snakes, and Cruciated twice, and that was just the battle against You-Know-Who. They don't know when he will be released."

"Hold on - _that was just the battle against You-Know-Who_? What else happened?" Moody demanded.

"You know what, damn it, I'll just read out the note. I don't know why I didn't just do that in the first place," Frank said. He cleared his throat. "All right."

"Guys, withhold your comments until the note is concluded," Moody said.

_November 1, 1981_

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom,_

_We were attacked by the Dark Lord Voldemort last night, but we drove him off. We gave him one _hell _of a fight. I daresay he won't be very happy of the fact that he caught two Blasting Curses to the chest, or the fact that Sirius punched him in the face._

_Oh, right. Right. I know we told everyone that Sirius was the Secret-Keeper, but the truth is we got a little bit too clever for our own good. We switched Secret-Keepers at the last minute to Peter Pettigrew. Sirius explained to me his reasoning behind it: a perfect bluff. Who would suspect _Peter _of being the Secret-Keeper, after all? We'd tell everyone that Sirius was the Secret-Keeper and then all the Death Eaters would hunt Sirius, not Peter. They wouldn't know that Peter had the Secret, so they wouldn't hunt him down, so our secret would be safe. Right? Right? Wrong._

_Peter - either through being tortured into confessing our location to the Death Eaters, or giving up the Secret to the Death Eaters of his own free will - told the Death Eaters the Secret. Either we'll do our best to avenge him or we'll kill the bastard ourselves. (More likely, it will be the latter, due to the information we learned during Mulciber's interrogation; see below.) Lily forced Sirius to swear not to go after Peter alone, because it was too dangerous and stupid a thing to do. Watch out for Peter, though. Don't trust him; he may not be your friend. Tell this to the whole Order; they all need to know about this, because we've been compromised._

_We've survived due to an unknown mysterious witch we've never even met before last night. Sirius told me that she told him, and I quote, that 'Pettigrew snitched. He blabbed the Secret.' He didn't believe it at first, but he went to our house and told us about it anyway - and very lucky for us, for about ten seconds after Sirius arrived at our house, the Dark Lord Uglyface himself attacked._

_This is where things get complicated._

_The same unknown mysterious witch intervened in the battle and helped Lily, Sirius, and I drive off the Dark Bastard. We cast Blasting Curses at him and two of them hit him and he Disapparated away before we could do more damage to him. We've got his wand, by the way; Lily's amazing like that. _

_Then, I accidentally triggered the Taboo by saying Voldemort's name. Six Death Eaters Apparated into Godric's Hollow; four new recruits ("newbies") and two professionals (Rowle and Mulciber). Five of those six Death Eaters are dead; only Mulciber got away alive._

_Although she helped us out against Voldemort, I don't believe the mysterious witch can be trusted. She hit Rowle with an extremely Dark spell that physically dragged his eyeballs out of their sockets, and she animated the corpses of not one, but _two _Death Eaters and controlled them into attacking the other four. As you all know, Necromancy is the foulest of the Dark Arts. She also repeatedly cast the Killing and Imperius Curses and didn't seem to have any problem with it. She may be against the Death Eaters and Voldemort, but that doesn't make her a good person or not a Dark Witch. She is dangerous and you should all watch out for her; she's an unknown, enigmatic, potentially third side to the war; a new piece on the chessboard that moves in a completely unpredictable manner._

_All that aside, her questioning of Mulciber - especially when she asked him to name all the loyal Death Eaters under a Truth Charm or she would kill him - specifically named Peter Pettigrew as one of those who was loyal to Voldemort. He might have been tortured into it, but I consider that the less likely possibility. After we are all discharged from St. Mungo's, we will have a discussion with Professor Dumbledore about the best possible course of action to take with regards to Peter, preferably as soon as possible._

_All my best,_

_James Potter_

"That's the end of the letter," Longbottom said.

"Who's the mysterious witch?" Moody asked. "That's what I want to know. How does she have all this sort of inside information? Potter and Black had told _no one_ that they had made Pettigrew the Secret-Keeper, yet she somehow knew about that anyway. How does she know about that?"

"Well, _Pettigrew_ certainly knew that Pettigrew was the Secret-Keeper," pointed out Hestia Jones. "And since he told the Death Eaters the Secret, they all know that he was the Secret-Keeper too."

"What that means," Dedalus Diggle concluded, "is that the only people who knew that Peter was the Secret-Keeper were James, Sirius, Lily, Peter, and the people who Peter told it to… the Death Eaters. So our mysterious witch has to be one of the aforementioned people."

"And James, Sirius, and Lily certainly didn't tell the mysterious witch, so who the hell could have? That only leaves Peter - or one of the people that he told the 'it' to," Moody said. "That only leaves Death Eaters. The mysterious witch is a Death Eater, that is the only explanation. She is a Death Eater who somehow had enough of a conscience to warn Potter and Black that her master was coming for them." He paused, and a thought occurred to him. "Not only did she warn Potter and Black that her master was coming for them, she _directly intervened in the battle herself_ and fired a Blasting Curse at her old master. There is no way she will be welcomed back into the fold after this, especially not after killing five members of the organization that she used to be part of. If she tried to re-enter the Death Eaters, she'd get slaughtered."

"Supposing she was Peter under Polyjuice, remorseful over having betrayed his best friends and wanting to give them one last chance to survive," someone suggested. "Having already abandoned all his morals and everything _else_ that he cared about, he might not be able to stand the idea of losing the last thing in all the world that he treasures - his old friends."

Some people looked like they were supporting this theory, and were about to say so - as was the result of years of lectures by Dumbledore on 'second chances for everyone.' But before they could, Andromeda Tonks burst out laughing.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAA!" she shouted derisively. "If he really treasured his old friends that much he never would have joined that band of despicable murderers in the first place!"

Molly Weasley declared, "Amen!" and Moody said, "Right in one." Arthur paused, trying to determine at what point in time his wife had found religion.

"There is a different flaw in this theory," Amelia Bones pointed out. "Peter Pettigrew is a positively mediocre wizard. In no way is he capable of killing five Death Eaters, animating corpses, Killing Curses, Imperius Curses, or a curse that drags people's eyeballs out of their sockets. He is simply not that powerful."

"Don't underestimate him," Frank Longbottom, Alastor Moody, and Emmeline Vance all said at the same time. They all looked at each other, half-surprised, half-amused. Vance elaborated:

"If Pettigrew really was a Death Eater, well… he fooled all of us, didn't he? None of us Order members even _knew_ he was a Death Eater until our mysterious informant told Sirius about him blabbing. Before that, well, he had all of us fooled. He clearly isn't as incompetent as we've all believed him to be."

"As for this mysterious witch," Doge paused, "I don't think it a problem, so long as we keep her pointed at the Death Eaters. As far as Alastor's deductions show, she is a Death Eater who defected. She literally cannot do anything but attack the Death Eaters. If she attacks people other than Death Eaters, she'll be shoved into Azkaban faster than she can blink; people believe there are spots that don't come off, after all. I don't imagine that after the war has ended, people will be very kind to even the _defected _Death Eaters."

"That is true," Albus said. He had been carefully listening for the entire discussion to find out what had happened at Godric's Hollow, who the mysterious witch was, what her motives were, how powerful she was, if she could be undermined, if she could be converted to the Light, and adjust all his plans according to the information he received. "Severus was killed by a Killing Curse to the back - and so soon after he had come back to the Light, too…"

"Bullshit," Alastor said firmly. "Snape was playing both sides."

"Bullshit, he was working for You-Know-Who, he had always been working for You-Know-Who, and he pretended defection to you so he could spy on you for You-Know-Who," snapped Vance.

"It is a good thing that he is dead," another person said.

Albus sighed. Not even his own Order believed in Severus' sincerity. How could they not see what was right in front of them?

"What is our best course of action?" he asked the room at large, finally.

"I'll look for our mystery witch," Moody announced. "Barty Crouch, Amelia, and Robards can help me." He didn't add that he was seriously considering setting up a contract with the mystery witch involving her working as a mercenary that would pay her money for each Death Eater captured or killed while she was on the job. Judging by the events of Godric's Hollow, she was certainly capable enough.

"Who will look for Pettigrew?" Albus asked. "I know that James and Sirius insist on going after him, but they might be emotionally compromised and thus put themselves in danger." He would have sacrificed James and Sirius himself, but allowing the two to get outdone by Pettigrew would simply make him and his organization look bad, as opposed to if they got killed by Voldemort.

"I'll report Pettigrew to Barty Crouch," Moody said. "He will be added to the official Ministry WANTED list and the Aurors will be looking for him. He can't evade capture for long, not with him being as incompetent as he is. I will also ask James Potter, when he is well enough, to describe and tell me the names that Mulciber listed in his interrogation. They," he motioned to the rest of the Order, "will sit around and be useless."

The people sitting in the room laughed; this was typical Moody. "Classic Alastor," Diggle said fondly.

None of them realized that Moody was serious in saying that most of the Order was sitting around and being useless; they weren't _nearly_ proactive enough of a wartime militia group for his liking. An unofficial militia, built to fight the Death Eaters! It should do more than simply pass around intelligence.

"Alastor," Dumbledore said warningly.

"I will look at the list of Death Eaters, see if I can narrow down the identity of our defector," said Hestia Jones.

"Excellent, excellent," Dumbledore said absentmindedly. "Alastor, Frank, we need to meet in my office to discuss some very important matters further."

"This meeting is dismissed," he said to the rest of the Order.

* * *

November 3, 1981, Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts, 10 PM

"I recently heard this joke," Alastor Moody was saying, "about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all walk into a bar, and -"

"Lemon drops," Albus said to the statue. The gargoyle leapt aside, and the Headmaster and the two Aurors entered the room.

They entered the room, just in time to see a wildly-deranged-looking Lucius Malfoy finish materializing into existence, next to a bunch of spontaneously erupted flames that formed the outline of a shoe.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" he shouted.

TBC…

* * *

**Author's Note**: The joke about the troll, the hag, and the leprechaun who walk into a bar is directly lifted from _Goblet of Fire_.


End file.
